[DAP91Si]

Car is 91 Si.

Took a road trip today and the last 5 miles my tach would bounce and eventually stopped working, lights were very dim, radio would come on/off and wipers very slow across the windshield. Engine was running fine though.

Since I shut the engine off during all this it was hard to restart. Would not turn over at first, then let it sit and it turned slowly and started fine.

Returing home the car started fine and ran fine. The radio lost its memory but the factory clock didn't. Car run fine for first 130 miles then during a 15 mile stretch it acted up again.

Battery terminals appear clean, bat and alt are 3 1/2 years old. Some of the easy to get to grounds were cleaned over a month ago. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Dren]

I'd first check your battery connections. Even if the connectors are clean they still need to be tight. Follow the ground wire to make sure it is ok. Then check your grounds.

 

[downest]

Yeah I would check all the connections, the ones to the battery/alternator and all the grounds. It sounds like you're losing power either from not charging the battery or something. I believe there was a flow chart on the resource or somewhere at one point for troubleshooting electrical problems. It's weird that the tach would cut out without the engine having problems, I believe it's just getting pulses off the dizzy.

 

[toxiclows]

probe a voltmeter acros the battery with the car off... . .. you should be at about 12.5 volts or so.... have someone fire the car up and watch the reding.... it should at least hit high 13's or like 14.5 or so . . . but if the batt is really low the alt ( if working right 0 will go into full chrge mode and dump alot higer volts than that to it. . . . . if you dont see it go up to at least 14 or so volts when running then you prob have a bad alternetor.. . .

clean the grounds. . . . . it takes 15 minutes and like a 10 mm socket... clean the battery terms too who cares if they look clean clean them your self and KNOW that they are right. . . . . check the opposite ends of those cables too and clean there connections. . . . make sure that at the terminals. . . that the wires are nit corroded into the insulitation. . . . where the termial goes into the wire. . .

good luck

Chris

 

[djhankb]

sounds a LOT like an intermittant alternator failure, as the alt gets hot, it doesn't put out what it should...

 

[jfish360]

Yo i live in mechanicsville ive probably seen your crx wut color is it and wut does it look like. geez wut a small world

 

[xxpaulcpxx]

Don't forget that ground wire UNDER the battery holder. You have to pull the battery to get to it - and DON'T rest the battery on top of your radiator, you will break the top plastic tank!

 

[DAP91Si]

Yo i live in mechanicsville ive probably seen your crx wut color is it and wut does it look like. geez wut a small world

White stock CRX. I've seen a few others on Pole Green and Mech. Tnpk.

I'm going to start with the grounds again, especially the one under the battery.

djhankb, You may be right, the problem started both times after 3 hrs of driving. Normally I don't drive that long so I may not see the problem again for a while.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Laure]

Did you figure it out? It sounds like the alternator to me; I've had similar crazy electrical symptoms with a bad alternator. Be sure to post up what it was; add to the knowledge base, you know.

 

[dohcrxl]

Checking all the fuses seems like a good place to start.

hmmm odd that someone who claims to know nothing about cars seems to know this is the first thing they teach you when confronting an electrical problem.

I agree with the alternator diagnosis. Heat can cause all sorts of oddities with electricity. Still wouldn't hurt to clean and tighten all grounds as well as tighten all the phillips head leads that go into the underhood fuse box. Oh, don't forget to make sure the big green alternator plug clips in place and is tight as well.

 

[DAP91Si]

Did you figure it out? It sounds like the alternator to me; I've had similar crazy electrical symptoms with a bad alternator. Be sure to post up what it was; add to the knowledge base, you know.

I went and got a new rebuilt alternator from Honda and it seems to have cured all my problems. I swear the drivability of the car is even better.